The Car of Your Future Is Already Here

The Car of Your Future Is Already Here

The McLaren P1 is a seven-figure toy for one percenters, sure. But it—and the other three cars in this slideshow—also showcases the kind of next-wave technology that'll filter down to normal-people cars sooner than you think

Twenty-one years ago, McLaren delivered the F1, less a supercar than the supercar, so holy were its talents and so astounding was its technology. The yellow sculpture here is the F1's successor, the McLaren P1. Fewer than 500 will be made, some already spoken for. You care because the innovations packed inside the P1's Beyoncé curves will eventually trickle down into the price range of mortals. Tech like, oh, you know, a push-button rocket boost. McLaren calls it the Instant Power Assist System, and it works like this: Attached to the turbocharged V-8 engine is an electric motor. You can use it to drive a measly six miles on battery power alone, or you can harness those ions for a blast into hyperspeed. Mash a button on the steering wheel and the electric motor's 176 horses augment the engine's 727 horses for several seconds. Should come in handy for passing lesser sports cars on a track or outrunning future drone-mounted police. And that's not the P1's only big breakthrough.